Fz1 or recommend a better £4k daily?

[MackemPete]

My office is moving to a new location meaning I'll need to use the bike more often. Currently have a gsxr 600 k2, decent bike but a bit uncomfortable. Fancy a more upright, but still fun bike, that will stand up to daily use.

[myvision]

How far is the commute?
What type of roads?

[MackemPete]

myvision said:

How far is the commute?
What type of roads?

About 17 miles each way. Mixture of dual carriage way and national speed limit roads. Expect there to be a decent amount of filtering too.

[trickywoo]

Z1000 sx

[ChocolateFrog]

An FZ1 was the worst bike I've ever owned.

All the compromises of a superbike engine with the compromises of a naked bike thrown in for good measure.

And I could get it below 30mpg on my 60 mile commute.

[ChocolateFrog]

To add something constructive

What about something like a K1200R or GSX1400?

[MackemPete]

trickywoo said:

Z1000 sx

Might be a push for 4k.

[MackemPete]

trickywoo said:

Z1000 sx

Might be a push for 4k.

[Jazoli]

Having owned an FZ1 and an FZS1000 I'd say find the best FZS1000 you can if you want a Fazer, the FZ1 has the benefit of abs but is an inferior bike, an early Z1000SX is within budget, and I'd recommend, I'm not keen on the looks of the 1st gen but the riding experience is very similar to the latest one (which I have)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-search?sort=pric...

You could also get a VFR1200 with luggage for under £4k which is an absolute steal.

Edited by Jazoli on Sunday 1st March 15:55

[MackemPete]

ChocolateFrog said:

To add something constructive

What about something like a K1200R or GSX1400?

K1200r... Hmmm I'd completely forgotten about those. They are really getting cheap. GSXR1400 is out, wife won't let me grow a mustache. 😅

[MackemPete]

Jazoli said:

Having owned an FZ1 and an FZS1000 I'd say find the best FZS1000 you can if you want a Fazer, the FZ1 has the benefit of abs but is an inferior bike, an early Z1000SX is within budget, and I'd recommend, I'm not keen on the looks of the 1st gen but the riding experience is very similar to the latest one (which I have)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-search?sort=pric...

You could also get a VFR1200 with luggage for under £4k which is an absolute steal.

Edited by Jazoli on Sunday 1st March 15:55

I hadn't looked at the big Zs. Figured they would still be north of 5. I'm suprised by the opinions on the Fz1. It seemed perfect for what I wanted. I had an old fazer 600 1999 model. Was decent for commuting but it was a bit meh. I figured the fzs1000 would be the same but faster 😂

Vfrs could be a good shout.... *heads to mcn reviews.

[myvision]

VFR 800.

[Jazoli]

myvision said:

VFR 800.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[MackemPete]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The old back would disagree with you on that. At times the gsxr makes the back that bad I struggle to get my feet back on the pegs as I pull away.

[podman]

MackemPete said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The old back would disagree with you on that. At times the gsxr makes the back that bad I struggle to get my feet back on the pegs as I pull away.

With you on the back thing.

Do you need a 1000 to do that mileage thou?

Something lighter and more nimble may prove better, an FZ6 would be more than enough and save a few quid on the insurance?

[MackemPete]

podman said:

Do you need a 1000 to do that mileage thou?

Definitely ha ha

[mickymellon1]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I agree (I do that on a Honda Grom ) but if bad back then I'd get whatever the ULEZ compliant version of a xjr / bandit type bike is or some sort of adventure bike

[evilzed]

I have an FZ1N and use it for about 30 miles round trip and find it to do the trip fine, the bike is peaky so you will only be using a fraction of the power everywhere and is geared really long which means lots of clutch slipping in traffic (does 80 odd mph in first). Mine's has been pretty reliable so for the 4-5 years I've owned it. But they do have an issue where the magnets in the stator come loose causing a quite a headache. Yamaha replaced the part with a new one that shields the magnets but it's a costly swap (around 300 quid)

[thatdude]

I have an FZ1, and I quite enjoy it - mind you, I do motorway / faster A-road commutes and rides. The fuel economy is pretty dire, the best Ive had on a looonnnng motorway run was 45 mpg but in town it's far, far lower (compare against an SV650 which did 55 mpg on a motoway run without trying, and 45 mpg commuting through london). The fuel injection is a bit snatchy, even on my 2008 model but it did get far better with a good service, including synchrosising the throttle bodies. I bet PAIR removal would make it nicer.

All in all I'm happy with it but I think there are better bikes out there. I recommend fitting a decent rear shock and getting the forks revalved to suit. I quite like the engine characteristics but I wish the gearing was a bit shorter - 60 mph in first would be better than 75, then all the following gears to suit. Sitting in top at 80 mph is quite relaxed though.

I think for your sort of commute you'd be better off with something more nimble, more frugal on fuel and more nippy / shorter geared. I see a guy often on an MT07 thing, sounds really good and he does not hang about on it so it is clearly very capable. I understand the suspension leaves room for improvement but thats true of almost everything that isnt top-end in a manufacturers catalogue.

Edited by thatdude on Monday 2nd March 14:05

[evilzed]

Ohh yeah I forgot to mention the bikes thirsty nature too, it's pretty crap on fuel. For commute duty I kind of prefer my Suzuki 250 instead it's a lot easier to deal with the traffic on the commute however I've never really got into a situation where I thought I couldn't filter through a gap on the FZ1 it's just more work as it's hefty and the steering lock not so great. A 650CC twin is probably the best compromise IMO for commuting